Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.2223
EAN: 9780307338778
ISBN: 0307338770
Label: Crown
Manufacturer: Crown
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2008-05-13
Publisher: Crown
Release Date: 2008-05-13
Studio: Crown

It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold.

In 1985, at a heated auction by Christie’s of London, a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux—one of a cache of bottles unearthed in a bricked-up Paris cellar and supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson—went for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. The discoverer of the bottle was pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines. But rumors about the bottle soon arose. Why wouldn’t Rodenstock reveal the exact location where it had been found? Was it part of a smuggled Nazi hoard? Or did his reticence conceal an even darker secret?

It would take more than two decades for those questions to be answered and involve a gallery of intriguing players—among them Michael Broadbent, the bicycle-riding British auctioneer who speaks of wines as if they are women and staked his reputation on the record-setting sale; Serena Sutcliffe, Broadbent’s elegant archrival, whose palate is covered by a hefty insurance policy; and Bill Koch, the extravagant Florida tycoon bent on exposing the truth about Rodenstock.

Pursuing the story from Monticello to London to Zurich to Munich and beyond, Benjamin Wallace also offers a mesmerizing history of wine, complete with vivid accounts of subterranean European laboratories where old vintages are dated and of Jefferson’s colorful, wine-soaked days in France, where he literally drank up the culture.

Suspenseful, witty, and thrillingly strange, The Billionaire’s Vinegar is the vintage tale of what could be the most elaborate con since the Hitler diaries. It is also the debut of an exceptionally powerful new voice in narrative non-fiction.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Story Worth Following
Comment: This is an interesting investigation into the phenomenon of a number of very old wine being discovered after most experts and wine collectors assumed the supply of 18th century wine was exhausted. The billionaire of the title is Bill Koch, of the Koch company, the largest privately held American corporation. Unfortunately, Koch was a purchaser of this wine and as its provenance became suspect, Koch mounted an expensive investigation into whether the wine was counterfeit. The book spans from the early 90's until 2005 and includes a number of colorful characters in Germany, UK, France, America and more, from places like Christie's, wine distributors, and chateux owners. One of the reasons this wine became $100,000+ per bottle is that it was purportedly owned by Thomas Jefferson.

I found the book essentially an unsolved-crime story, well written. It went too far into the history of Thomas Jefferson for no reason, but overall stayed focused and tight. I stayed interested throughout and in parts could not put it down, which is more meaningful considering I don't drink and don't know much about wine.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good book, but diffuse ending
Comment: This book opened my eyes to how wine is traded, sold, and drunk. Told as an investigative journalism peice, The Billionaire's Vinegar reveals all of the interesting and bizzare facts about the rare wine craze of the 1990's. Afterwards I felt nearly compelled to go out and sample some good wines.

....although the ones I sampled were substantially cheaper than those described in this book.

My only problem with the book is the ending, which I felt was too "diffuse" and unresolved. It needs a tighter "wrap-up" ending chapter.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting true story told as a thriller
Comment: This is a good read.
I prefered the first half which was very catching and thrilling. I think the author really did a good job telling these amazing facts in this exciting manner.
The second half was a little too factual and repetitive. I guess the beginning was too good with the surprise effect ( I didnt know the story) so it would have been hard to hold it on.
I disagree with the comments regarding the timing of the release. The important is not to know who is right or wrong regarding the Jefferson bottle. I think the whole point of the book is actually to let the doubt stands. Its better that way to make the reader thinks for himself.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Wine Sleuthing
Comment: Very well researched, well structured and reads like a detective story. Interest for Brits, Europeans and Americans as the story and the characters shuttle back and forth. Many gurus of the wine world play a part and the reader lives the narrative, its twists, turns and surprises, plus some wry humour. After much detailed case work, the story ends rather abruptly and readers will be curious to know what happened to the key players next. A post script to the second edition, perhaps?

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting peek inside the world of rare wines
Comment: This book provides a great look inside the very high end of wine collecting - the people, the history and of course the wines. The author offers up a fascinating portrait of the people whose trade or avocation is the finding, selling and drinking of 100+ year old fine wines; and in the process it tells a riveting tale of intrigue and fakery. The first 80% of this book is absolutely five-star material, but the last 20% kinda falls apart. Not the author's fault that there wasn't a satisfying denouement to the tale, but I can't help but think it might have been structured better to deliver a more satisfying ending.

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